Dispensing device



-2 44- H. F. WATERS ml. 2,339 895 DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Feb. 27. 1941v 2 Sheets-Sheet I INVENTOR; HHRR Y E rm TERS 25 BY FRflN/f s. CORNEL L floaz.

- FITTOR N EY Patented Jan. 25, 1944 DISPENSING DEVICE Harry F. Watersand. Frank S. CornelhNew'York, N- Y.; said Cornell. assignor: to -saidWat'ers.

Application February 27, 1941, Sr'ialNb; $80,804:"

Claims.

The. present.v invention. relates to dispensing devices, and, more particularly, to a dispensing device ofnovel' and improved? character for dispensing fluid materials particularly oil; from flexible-walled. packages.

In the retail distribution of various. commodities, including lubricating oil, flexible-walled packages are now being. used to an increasing extent and' are gradually displacing, rigid-walled containers, such as cans,.principally usedlat present for this purpose. These flexible-walled packages generally comprise an outer carton and an inner fluid-tight bag. at least in part constituted of a thermo-plastic material. Containers of. this type provide the advantages of bei'ng'lower in cost than metal cans and of being capabl'efloi being shipped in a collapsed or flattened. condition to the packaging whereby the cost of shipping and the space requirements of storage are greatly reduced. Containers of this type are disclosed for example in the co-pending application of Harry F; Waters; Serial No. 743,957 filediseptember 14, 1934'.

As those skilled. in the art know,.various dispensing devices are at present in use at. filling stations for opening the cans containing a unitary amount of lubricating oil and facilitating the introduction of the oil from the opened can into the crank case of an automobile. All. of. these conventional dispensing devices comprise a. cutting member or spike which cuts or punches a dischargeopening in the can through which the contents may be quickly and easily discharged. It has been found that these dispensing devices are not readily adaptable to dispensing. oil from flexible-walled packages due to the. fact that the flexible walls of the package arec'apable of withstanding a substantial amount. of deformation by a cutting member without being opened or cut. This is largely due to the great resiliency and flexibility of the materials employed in the construction of flexible-walled containers which cause the walls of the container to be resiliently deformed and to avoid the cutting impression. Although various suggestions and proposals were made to provide a simple and efficient dispensing device for dispensing oil and similar liquids from flexible-walled packages, none, as. far as .we. are aware, of these prior devicesv have been 'completely satisfactory and successful when carried into practice on a practical and commercial scale.-

We have discovered that the outstanding. problem may be solved in a simple and completely a satisfactory manner.

It". is an object. of the. present invention. toiprovide a dispensing device which eliminates all of the difiiculties and disadvantages of. conventional dispensing devices. v

It is another object of? the presentiinvention' to provide a dispensing,- device. of novel and" improved character which is especially adaptable to dispensing. oil from unitary packages constituted of relatively flexible material.

It. is afurtlier object of the invention to provide a dispensing device for. dispensing, oil from packages of. the described" character and which relies on. an shreddingv or tearing action rather than on a cutting action characteristic of" prior dispensingdevices. v

Still another object of the invention is to pro"- vide a dispensing device having a tearing meniber incorporated" therein adapted to be displaced in a direction in which perforatingv pressure is applied against one of the walls oftheflexiblewalled container a tearing. displacement being subsequently imparted to saidmember to cause the production of a discharge. opening of substantial size in the container; 1

It is also within the contemplation of the. invention to provide a di'spensin'g. device for opening flexible-walled fluid containers and to ,dis.-

charge the contents therefrom, said" device combininga deforming member'into which the lower portion of the container is inserted and is exposed to. the tearing action of the tearing member.

A further object contemplated'by' the present invention" is a method oidischargin'g liquids from flexible-walled packages which involves subject'- ing' the packages todeformation and" to subsequent tearing stresses. I y

The invention also contemplates" a" dispensing device for flexiblerwalled' oil packages which is simple in construction, easy to use and which may be manufacture and sold on" a practical and commercial scale at a low price;

Qther and further objects of the invention will become apparent" from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a side" elevationalview of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a liquid package immediately prior to its insertion into the device;

Fig. 2 depicts. a top elevational' viewof 'the dis pensing device shownin Fig. I; f

Fig... 3. shows a verticalsectional view takenton linev 3l-3ofFig. 2}. y

Fig. 4' is a vertical sectional view taken on line displaceable l-l of Fig. 2 and at right angles to the plane of Fig. and

Fig. is a perspective view, somewhat fragmentary in character, of a flexible-walled container after its lower portion has been torn open and the contents have been discharged.

Broadly stated, according to the principles of our invention, we provide a tearing member adapted to engage a portion of the inner fluidtight andfflexible-walled bag associated with the carton and to tear a discharge opening of substantial dimensions therein. We have found that in order to obtain safe and positive operation of the dispensing device under all operating .condi-- tions, it is desirable to provide a tearing member having a plurality of sharp prongs or pins extending therefrom. During the opening procedure this tearing member is displaced towards a suitable portion of the container so that the pins or prongs are substantially vertical to the plane thereof. Due to this particular arrangement, the pins of the tearing member will readily perforate the thin Wallof the container and will then be displaced in such a direction as to tear the engaged portion open. We have also discovered that best results are obtained by first deforming theflexible container to a limited extentand thereby increasing'the internal pressure and causing 'a slight bulging of the fluidtight bag in the lower portionsthereof, which are subsequentlyexposed to the effect of the tearingjmember. Generally. speaking, it is advisable to open at least one of the bottom flaps of the carton containing the fluid-tight bag in order to facilitate thedeform'ation of the package and to make oneof the lower corners or tabs of the bag accessible to'the tearing member.

' The tearing means are preferably combined with asuitable container or receptacle which is receiving the oil or other liquid discharged from the, package and which is associated with a suitable actuating mechanism and with a flexible hose ortube for the'introduction of the oil into the crank case of an automobile as it will be explained more fullyhereinafter.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 to 4 of thedrawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be explained. Reference character I05 denotes 'a container of cylindrical type made of metal or some other suitable material and having a bottom The cylindrical walls of container l0 may be extended further down below bottom II, as denoted byreference character. l2, to support the container in upright position. .Preferably, bottom H is of a, slightly sloping character to assure complete discharge of the oil therefrom through a hose or tube l3 of flexible character having a nozzle M at the end thereof which may be introduced into the crank case filling opening. A hook IE on nozzle M has 'thepbject of engaging a ring or similar member l6 'onthe top portion of the container to maintain. tube |3 in an inoperative position when not in'u'se. 'A conventional handle H is mounted on tlief'side of container ID to provide a'convenient gripping member for the operator.

. Container I0 is closed at the top thereof by means of. a circular plate l8 which is retained on the container by means of flanges I9 or by means of some other convenient fastening element.. A funnel or hopper member is provided on top l8 and is so constructed and arranged as to hold the lower terminal portions of a; flexible-walled package in an inclined position once it has been opened. As it has been pointed out in the foregoing, it is essential that the package should be at least moderately deformed prior to being exposed to the action of the tearing member. Since the described embodiment of the invention is designed for dispensing oil from rectangular or oblong packages, the funnel member 20 has such a shape as to cause a converging displacement of the side walls thereof and thereby bulging out of one of the end panels of the container, as this will be best observed in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Fig. 2 clearly indicates that little or no deforming pressure is applied to one of the end panels of the package, a gradually increasing pressure is applied to the two side or main panels of the package and a very strong deformation and fiexure about a medial line is applied to the other end panel. This type of deformation may be readily carried out after one of the bottom end flaps has been removed from its original position and has been folded vertically upwards, particularly when the type of car.- ton is employed having medial score lines in the two end panels, this being disclosed, for example, in the co-pending application of Harry F. Waters Serial No. 255,030 filed February 7, 1939. This deformation of the package will cause the left-hand bottom corner or tab of the flexible bag to protrude from the protecting carton and to assume a shape similar to an inverted threesided Pyramid. Due to the fact that the tearing strength of the flexible material of the bag is relatively low and the protective layer of the carton has been. removed from such regions, a discharge opening may be readily torn therein by proper application of the tearing member.

The tearing member and its actuating mechanism will be best understood from Figs..3 and 4 of the drawings.

A frame or bracket 2| is mounted to container H) by means of screws or bolts '22. Bracket 2| has a generally U-shaped construction and has a horizontal actuating shaft 23 rotatably mounted in the lower portion thereof- One end of shaft 23 protrudes through a boss 24 in container Ill and its end is bent up to form an actuating lever or handle 25. Preferably, a suitable packing material (not shown), is provided in a suitable cavity of boss 24 to prevent leakage of the oil therethrough. The intermediate portion of shaft 23 has an arm'26 rigidly connected thereto, the other end of the arm being jointedly connected to tearing member carrying rod 21 by means of a pin 28. Rod 21 protrudes through an opening 29 provided in spindle 30 which is likewise 'rotatably mounted in frame or bracket 2| at its. two ends. The upper end of rod 21 carries a substantially Y.-shaped transverse member 3|. from which tearing pins 32 protrude. Resilient means in the form of a coil spring 33 having one of its ends connected to pin 28 and the other of its ends connected to a screw 34 in container Hl have the'object of maintaining the tearing member operating mechanism in its normal position of rest when the device is not in use.

From the foregoing description, the operation of our improved dispensing device will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. Before inserting the package from which'liquid is to be discharged into the dispensing device, one'of the bottom end flaps 35 of carton 36 is lifted up and brought into a position in which it'is resting on the end wall or panel of the package. This operation will liberate one of thebottom corner to assure complete discharge "of the; contents 7 portions of the inner flexible bag 31- which ill protrude through the bottom of the package, as this will appear in Figs. 1 and 3 and is denoted byreference character 37a. Hereafter the package is slightly squeezed in order to bring its side panels into a more or less converging position and't'o convert its normally rectangular cross section into the distorted shape in which the lefthand end panel 38 is folded along a longitudinal medial line 39 thereof. This operation may be readily carried out particularly with packages of the type principally contemplated by the present invention in which medial score lines are present in both end panels. The package may now be pushed into funnel or hopper member 28 having surfaces so constructed and arranged as to at least maintain or to further increase the desired deformation of the lower portion of the package. As it will appear in Fig. 3, in this po- 'sitioh the lower left-hand tab 37a of the bag will protrude through opening 48 in top 58 of container Ii and will assume a shape similar to that of a three-sided inverted pyramid which is filled with the liquid and is within the range of operatiori of tearing member 3|. By displacing actuatin'g lever 25 in the direction of arrow 4|, arm

26 will be caused to rotate in the direction of arrow 42 and will impart a displacement to tearing member 3! which due to the fact that rod 21 of said member may be slidably displaced in opening 29 of spindle 39, will be along a generally curvilinear path. During this displacement, tearing member 3! will first move in a generally horizontal direction and will strike the surface of liquid filled triangulartab 31a substantially vertical to the outer surface thereof. Therefore, tearing pins 32 will readily penetrate through the relatively weak material of the tab and will firmly engage the same. During further travel of the tearing member, tearing pins 32 will be pulled downwardly and will tear an opening of substantial size in tab Sla through Which opening the liquid contained in the package may be quickly discharged into container Hi. It will be noted that due to the close spacing of tearing pins 32, they will have the effect of forming a series of perforations in the tab which will guide the tearing the tab to shreds in a predetermined and preferred direction, whereby irregular tearing of the tab, complete severance of portions of the tab, and contamination of the discharged liquid with pieces of liner or bag material is avoided. At the same time the discharge opening provided is ample for discharging the contents within a few seconds, substantially without spilling or splashing any of the contents. After the tearing or slitting operation has been completed, actuating lever or handle is released by the operator and spring 33 will return the operating mechanism into its normal position of rest in which it is ready to operate on a new package. The package from which the liquid has been discharged may be removed or pulled out from hopper 20 and may be collapsed if desired to facilitate its storage until final disposal. Due to the fact that the discharged package has its fluid-tight bag or liner destroyed it is altogether impossible to refill the package with an inferior grade of the packaged commodity.

Fig. is a fragmentary perspective view of the lower portions of the liquid package in the discharging position and clearly shows bottom tab 31a of bag 37 and the discharge opening 3% of substantial dimensions. The dischargev opening is provided without the complete severance of material from the bag whereby contamination of the discharged liquid with particles of bag matrial is avoided.

It will be noted that the dispensing device of the invention provides important advantages. Firstof all a dispensing device is provided capable of draining liquid contents from flexiblewalledpackages in a quick, safe and positive manner by applying a tearing action onto a predetermined portion of the liquid package.

It is also to be observed that the dispensing device of the invention completely destroys the liquid package and positively prevents its refilling with a different or inferior grade of merchandi'se.

Moreover, the dispensing device of the inventioh is extremely simple in its construction, it is easy and fool-proof in operation and may be manufactured on an industrial scale at a low price.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the present invention. We consider all of these variations and modifications to be within the true spirit and scope o'f'the present invention as disclosed in the foregoing description and defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a dispensing device for flexible-walled liquid packages, the combination which comprises a container for receiving said flexiblewalled packages, a tearing member in said container, and an operating mechanism to displace said member towards a package within said container to engage a portion thereof and then to displace said member away from said engaged portion to tear an opening therein and to cause discharge of the contents through such opening.

2. In a dispensing device for draining liquid from flexible-walled packages including an outer carton and an inner flexible and fluid-tight bag having a downwardly protruding tab portion exposed for discharge purposes, the combination which comprises a container, a tearing member within said container having a plurality of tearing pins therein juxtaposed to the said tab, displacing means including a jointed lever mechanism for displacing said pins along a curved path thereby to force said pins into the exposed downwardly protruding tab portion of said inner bag and to tear the portion thus engaged, and a hopper member having surfaces snugly fitting the walls of said package and adapted to impart moderate deformation thereto for holding the package in cooperating position with said tearing member.

3. In a dispensing device having a container with a dispensing opening for draining liquid from flexible-walled packages including an outer carton and an inner flexible and fluid-tight bag, the combination which comprises an actuating shaft rotatably mounted in said container and having an actuating lever connected thereto exteriorly of said container, an arm rigidly connected to said shaft, a rod having one of its ends jointedly connected to said arm and carrying a tearing member at its other end, means for slideably engaging an intermediate portion of said rod, and means for holding a liquid package with its lower portion in an inclined cooperating position with respect to said tearing member.

4. In a dispensing device having a container with a dispensing opening for draining liquid from flexible-walled packages including an outer carton and an inner flexible and fluid-tight bag having downwardly protruding tab portion exposed for discharge purposes, the combination which comprises an actuating shaft rotatably mounted in said container and having an actuating lever connected thereto exteriorly of said container, an arm rigidly conected to said shaft, a rod having its lower end jointedly connected to said arm and carrying a tearing member with a plurality of pins at its upper end juxtaposed to the said tab, a rotatable spindle mounted in parallel-spaced position above said shaft and having an opening therein slideably engaging an intermediate portion of said rod, and a hopper member in the top of said container having surfaces for holding a liquid package of described character in inclined cooperating position in which the exposed downwardly depending tab'of the liquid-filled inner bag will protrude into the path of said tearing pins whereby upon operation of said actuating lever said pins will penetrate said tab and subsequently will tear said bag open to cause quick and complete discharge of liquid from said bag into said container.

5. In a dispensing device having a container with a dispensing opening for withdrawing oil from flexible-walled packages including an outer carton and an inner flexible and fluid-tight bag having downwardly protruding tab portion exposed for discharge purposes, the combination which comprises an actuating shaft rotatably mounted in said container and having an actuating lever connected thereto exteriorly of said container, an arm rigidly connected to said shaft, a rod having its lower end jointedly connected to said arm and carrying a tearing member with a plurality of pins at its upper end in a substantially Y-shaped configuration juxtaposed to the'said tab, a rotatable spindle mounted in parallel-spaced position above said shaft and having an opening therein slideably engaging an intermediate portion of said rod, a hopper member connected to an opening in the top of said container having a straight end panel guiding surface, a pair of converging side panel guiding surfaces and a V-shaped end panel guiding surface for holding the lower portion of a liquid package of described character in an inclined position in which the exposed, downwardly depending tab of the liquid-filled inner bag will protrude through the top of the container into the path of said tearing pins whereby upon operation of said actuating lever said pins will penetrate said depending tab and subsequently will tear said bag open to cause quick and complete discharge of liquid from said bag into said container, and resilient means to return the operating members into their normal position of rest after each actuation.

HARRY F. WATERS. FRANK S. CORNELL. 

